Securities Commission (SC) chairman Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh, (also the Asean Capital Markets Forum chairman)
KUALA LUMPUR: Thirteen funds have been recognised by regulators from their countries of origin as qualifying for the Asean Collective Investment Schemes (CIS), of which five have been launched in other countries (host jurisdictions).
The Asean Capital Markets Forum (ACMF), comprising capital market regulators from 10 Asean jurisdictions, said in a statement that it welcomed the progress of the framework for cross-border offering of Asean CIS.
The Asean CIS framework aims to foster cross-border fund distribution and shorten time to market for funds.
The statement did not mention the home and host countries for the funds, but as of September last year, regulators in three countries - Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand - had streamlined their review process to allow for issuers offering equity or plain debt securities to distribute a common prospectus for multiple jurisdictions (based on a single Asean-wide set of disclosure standards).
In March last year, ACMF said it had authorised five funds as qualifying CIS, of which two were approved by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) and three by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
ACMF said it had also approved its annual plan for 2016 during its recent meeting in Thailand. This plan, which sets out ACMF’s immediate priorities for the year, is based on the earlier-approved ACMF Action Plan 2016-2020 which will be presented to the Asean finance ministers at a meeting next month for endorsement.
“A key component of the Action Plan is to facilitate capacity buildings for members,” it noted.
ACMF, which is chaired currently by SC chairman Datuk Ranjit Ajit Singh, has launched the Asean Young Regulators Programme as the first programme under the ACMF Market Development Programme.
“This new programme aims to foster mutual sharing and exchange of expertise and experiences among capital market regulators in building a continuous pipeline of talent and to promote cooperation among Asean securities regulators through secondment opportunities at (other) Asean capital market regulators,” it said.
ACMF also said it had embarked on a needs analysis with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in order to guide the development of tailored capacity building programmes for members, both as individuals and as a collective.
It has also partnered with ADB to commission a study to provide input on the Asean stock exchange connectivity.
ACMF noted that the forum had formed three specific industry consultative panels to further accelerate the implementation of initiatives that facilitate cross-border offering of CIS, cross-border fundraising and Asean stock exchange connectivity.
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